Data centers, considered the vaults of the digital world, will undergo a series of constantly moving transformations in 2025, in part due to a few key trends. Among them, AI and the growing demand for intensive computing are driving the need for more powerful and energy-efficient infrastructures.
“Reducing the environmental footprint has become the number one priority for builders and operators of these key digital infrastructures, along with the integration of renewable energy and sustainable cooling technologies. Local acceptance of data centers also continues to be a challenge, as does the search for the talent necessary to satisfy the high level of demand, so 2025 is going to be a very interesting year for the sector,” explains Francisco Ramírez, country managing director of Data4 Spain.
Data Centers in 2025
Data4 has identified 10 trends for the coming year:
- Development of large data center campuses: With the rise of AI, American companies are investing in large-scale projects, such as Amazon in Virginia and Microsoft in Kentucky. These facilities, often located near renewable energy sources, are designed to handle large volumes of data and meet the growing demand for intensive computing, especially for AI and real-time data analysis.
- Increase in energy demand: The acceleration of AI is skyrocketing the energy consumption of data centers. Generative AI applications, such as ChatGPT, consume up to ten times more energy than conventional services such as Google searches. This growing demand is forcing companies to look for innovative ways to power their infrastructure while minimizing their carbon footprint.
- Advanced and sustainable cooling systems: Cooling remains crucial, and more attention is being paid to systems such as direct liquid cooling (DLC), which improves the management of high-density servers. Immersion cooling solutions are also emerging, which dissipate heat by submerging servers in non-conductive liquids to achieve higher densities.
- Energy autonomy of data centers: The sector is exploring the energy independence of data centers to reduce their environmental impact. Strategies such as the use of small modular nuclear reactors (SMR) and energy storage systems, such as high-capacity batteries, are gaining ground to ensure a stable and clean supply.
Data centers: The 10 trends in the sector for 2025 according to Data4
- Digital simulation (digital twins): Digital simulation projects are beginning to show results in optimizing the energy efficiency of data centers. These “digital twins” make it possible to simulate the behavior of data centers and find solutions to reduce energy consumption by adjusting the performance of cooling and power systems.
- Location and diversification of sites: Faced with energy constraints, more and more data centers are located in industrial areas or away from urban centers, often near renewable energy sources, to avoid bottlenecks in urban energy infrastructure.
- Innovations in heat reuse: Projects to reuse the heat produced by data centers are exploring new avenues. Data4’s biocircular data center concept, which uses waste heat to grow algae, represents a promising development, enabling biomass production for the pharmaceutical and food industries.
- Integrated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach: Beyond energy consumption, the overall environmental footprint of data centers must be optimized. Sustainable construction, accredited by standards such as BREEAM, is crucial to meeting future sustainability expectations. In the long term, a holistic and circular vision must prevail in the sector.
- Foster community acceptance: Despite their crucial role, data centers still raise questions in local communities. It is essential that stakeholders adopt transparent and sustainable approaches, promoting local employment and establishing links with local schools and businesses to create shared value.
- Talent attraction and retention: To meet marketing deadlines, it is essential to have the necessary human resources. In 2025, the challenge will be to attract and retain talent from other industries.
